CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, CHICO COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION Department of Recreation and Parks Management Recreation 323 Special Event Planning and Operations Spring 2011 MW 3:00-4:50, Yolo 171 Susan Barnett susanlbarnett@yahoo.com Office: Yolo 181 Dept. Office: Yolo 173 EMAIL is PREFERRED method of contact Office Hours: T: 10AM-1PM; W: 8-9AM Office Number: 898-5211 VISTA is used frequently throughout the semester CHECK VISTA DAILY and before coming to class! Course Description This course is designed for students to explore the profession of special event and festival management and learn how to plan, implement and evaluate special events with a servicelearning approach. This means that students will learn foundational concepts and professional skills of event management through meaningful involvement in community events. Essential topics will include event planning, coordination, sponsorship, programming, marketing, communications, vender management, volunteer management, risk management, event research, and event evaluation. (Prerequisites: RECR 200 and RECR 220; or instructor s permission) Required Text Kilkenny, S. (2006). The complete guide to successful event planning. Ocala, FL: Atlanta Publishing Group, Inc. (Version including CD) Recommended Texts Allen, J. (2005). Time management for event planners: Expert techniques and time-saving tips for organizing your workload, prioritizing your day, and taking control of your schedule. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Hoyle, L. (2002). Event marketing: How to successfully promote events, festivals, conventions, and expositions. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Skinner, B. E., & Rukavina, V. (2002). Event Sponsorship. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Tarlow, P.E. (2002). Event risk management and safety. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Van Der Wage, L. & Carlos, B.R. (2005) Event management for tourism, cultural, business and sporting events. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Course Objectives At the conclusion of this course, you should be aware of: 1. Understand how special events are defined and classified; (COA 8.06:01) 2. Have the knowledge of the scope and impact of special events; (COA 8.02, 9A.04) 3. Have the knowledge of career prospects in event industry; (COA 8.06:01) 4. Develop a professional perspective of the needs of a variety of stakeholders (including the board of directors, politicians, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, sponsors, vendors, the media, the participants, etc.); (COA 8.09, 9A.01) 5. Develop an enhanced understanding of professionalism in event management; (COA 8.07, 8.08, 8.15) 6. Identify and acquire a full range of resources (e.g., community, industrial, natural, human service, fiscal, technological) to ensure successful event management; (COA 8.08, 8.09, 8.10, 8.11, 8.12:01, 8.12:02, 8.13) 7. Apply basic event management concepts and skills (e.g., planning, coordinating, staffing, financing, marketing, programming, risk management, evaluation, etc.) to a community event at hand. (COA 8.14, 8.16, 8.17, 8.18, 8.19, 8.20, 8.21, 8.22, 8.23, 8.25:01, 8.25:02, 8.25:03, 8.25:04, 8.26:03, 8.27, 9C.01; 9C.02)
Learning Methodology Service Learning is an instructional methodology that combines community service with academic instruction, using reflection, critical thinking, and an emphasis on personal responsibility. It is a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development. During the semester, students will work closely with a few selected organizations on various community and private events. Each student will be required to execute specific assignments related to plan, coordinate and implement one or more events under the guidance and supervision of the course instructor and our partner agencies event professionals. Representative of the organization involved will provide feedback for the students grades. CAVE Clearance to work in the community is a required component of this class. There will be an orientation within the first two weeks of the semester to aid you in completing the paperwork. If you have completed the paperwork before, great, but the CAVE process may have changed since you last completed it. Paperwork must be completed on time, or you will be asked to drop the class. Participation in this project may present a potential for injury or illness to students dependent upon the nature of the event they choose to implement. Additionally, those events may also create a liability exposure to the students and/or the University if a third party is injured or sustains damages as a result of the event being offered. As such, students participating in this project do so at their own risk and may be asked to sign a waiver of liability and hold harmless agreement. The waiver of liability releases the University from any and all claims resulting in any physical or psychological injury, illness, damages, or economic or emotional loss students may suffer from participation in these events. The waiver of liability also includes hold harmless language which states students are responsible for reimbursing the University for any monies the University may pay out as a result of claims made against the students and/or the University as a result of the event. Students who are not willing to sign a release of liability form will be given an alternative assignment. As with any event, students should begin addressing risk management concerns in the developmental phases of their event. When an event is being considered, careful consideration should be given to the potential risks of injury or harm that students may suffer as a result of providing the chosen event. Additionally, consideration should be given to the likelihood that the chosen event might cause injury or harm to a third party. Local laws and regulations also need to be considered. Classroom Environment and Requirements 1. It s all about respect Please refrain from using your cell phones in class, including vibrate mode and text messaging. If I catch you texting in class, you will be asked to leave and will be marked absent for the day. You may bring a laptop to class for purposes of workshop support, but may not be used during lectures. 2. Attendance and participation are mandatory! 5 points will be deducted per day absent. 10 points will be added to your final score for perfect attendance. To be exempt from point deduction, an absence due to a family/personal emergency or a university-sanctioned event must be supported by appropriate document (not via telephone or email) PRIOR to the absence. It is the student s responsibility to make up the class sessions or works missed and explain your situation to your committee members. FAILURE TO ATTEND YOUR OWN EVENT RESULTS IN AN F for the semester.
3. Effective participation and contribution goes beyond just showing up for class. You will get the most out of this class if you arrive prepared and ready to engage in discussion. This includes noting questions and/or comments you have about the topic, bringing your own relevant experience into the discussion, and doing additional research on the subject. Your participation should occur at an appropriate time during group or class discussion. Effective comments are relevant, thought provoking, and insightful. The key to participation and contribution is to move the class forward towards the course objectives. Unless you participate, you will not learn very much. True learning comes from taking those personal risks and challenging your thoughts and ideas. I would rather you made poor arguments (initially) than not speaking at all. You will learn from one another and continue to improve the mastery of the topic. Basically, the more prepared you are, the easier it will be to successfully participate. Everything that is discussed in class is open to question, dissection, challenge, debate, and (even) laughter. 4. Please arrive on time to class. After five minutes, you will be considered absent for the day unless you have a verifiable excuse. Once you arrive to class, refrain from leaving until class is over. 5. Food and drink are not allowed in the classroom. Water is acceptable. 6. Accommodations for students with disabilities: CSU, Chico seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services, and activities for people with disabilities. If you have a special need (e.g., learning disability, voice, hearing, vision or mobility), please inform us at the beginning of the semester. We can coordinate with student organizations and offices to enhance your educational experience. Assignments/ Assessments Most assignments will be covered in class a week before the due date. Turn in a hard copy and post an electronic version of your assignment on Vista the day it is due but before class begins. Late assignments will not be accepted (0 points). Written assignments will be graded on content, completeness, creativity, spelling, grammar, neatness, and whether or not you followed directions for the assignment. Follow the requirements for professionally written assignments. Requirements for assignments (unless otherwise noted) a. Font: Times New Roman. Size: 12 b. Margins: 1 inch on the top, bottom and both sides. c. Double-spaced. d. All pages must be numbered. e. Papers with grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors will not be accepted! Cheating is not tolerated in any form. According to the Council for Promoting Academic Integrity, cheating consists of fraudulent work, patch writing, not citing sources or using proper quotations (Fosen, C. Plagiarism: Four Activities, Accessed from http://www.csuchico.edu/vpaa/integrity/index.html). You must properly cite the work of others. Using projects from students in a previous class, or from a source without citing it, is considered plagiarism. A zero tolerance policy is upheld with all work of plagiarism passed directly on to Judicial Affairs. Writing Assistance: If you do need assistance with writing, we strongly encourage you to use the Writing Center. Hours will be posted within the first few weeks of the semester.
Verification of VISTA Readings Three individual readings are posted on Vista to be read and replied to on the Discussion boards on Vista by the second week in the semester. Failure to acknowledge the VISTA readings may result in being dropped from the class. Weekly Committee Reports Each week by 5pm on Friday, committees are to upload their committee reports to their individual discussion boards. This assignment begins during the 5 th week of the semester. Details are in the VISTA readings to be read during the first week. Industry Interview Report Begin contacting event planners in your hometown immediately to set up in-person or phone interviews during the third week of the course. More specific details are listed on Vista under assignments. Event Planning Website Assessment Specific details about this assignment are on Vista under assignments. The assignment will be released after week 5 and will be due during the technology unit. Event Parameter Checks A series of ten event-planning parameters will be checked during the semester based on your group s timelines. Due dates vary for this assignment. Event Reflection as a Volunteer During the semester, you are required to volunteer for an event for a minimum of two (2) hours in addition to any training involved. Before volunteering, download the assignment guidelines from the assignments tab on Vista. Professional Manual of Event/Event Presentation Your event must be documented fully and in a professional manner. Event manuals are to include the parameters laid out in class as well as the grading rubric. Details on this assignment are posted under the Event Manual folder on the homepage of VISTA. Presentations occur during week 15 before the final. Peer Evaluations You are to evaluate each of your committee members based on a list of criteria set by the instructor and posted on Vista under evaluations folder. Final Reflection Paper In order to access your knowledge of the course topics as it relates to your event experience, a reflection paper is written for the Final. Details on the reflection paper will be released on Vista under the evaluations folder after week 12.
Student Grade Sheet Points: Possible Actual Verification of Vista Readings (3 @ 5 points each) 15 CAVE Clearance 10 Industry Interview Report 30 Event Planning Website Assessment 20 Weekly Reports (10 @ 5 points each) 50 Event Reflection as a Volunteer 30 Professional Manual (Event or Facility) 30% of grade 150 Event Parameter Checks (10 @ 10 points each) 100 Peer Evaluation of Performance 10 Reflection paper 15% of grade 75 See details on Vista Event Presentation 10 Final: Must attend Final to complete the course Total Possible Points 500 Minus 5 points per absence not to exceed 75 points